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Google staff will be able to work from home until next summer, the technology giant has confirmed, as part of its ongoing response to the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\nGoogle staff will be able to work from home until next summer, the technology giant has confirmed, as part of its ongoing response to the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
The firm\u2019s employees, including several thousand in Ireland, have been working remotely since the early days of the Covid-19 outbreak.<\/p>\n
Now, chief executive Sundar Pichai has told staff that they will have the option to work from home until at least the end of June 2021.<\/p>\n
Confirming the company\u2019s decision, a Google spokeswoman said: \u201cTo give employees the ability to plan ahead, we are extending our global voluntary work-from-home option through June 30 2021 for roles that don\u2019t need to be in the office.<\/p>\n
\u201cChief executive Sundar Pichai made the announcement today in an email to employees.\u201d<\/p>\n
In May, fellow tech giant Twitter announced that it would allow staff who could work from home to continue to do so indefinitely, and Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has previously said that as many as 50 per cent of the social network\u2019s employees could work remotely for the next five to 10 years, as the company embraces less office-based work.<\/p>\n
In its own blog post about employees working from home, Twitter said: \u201cWhen we do decide to open offices, it also won\u2019t be a snap back to the way it was before.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be careful, intentional, office by office and gradual.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the Covid-19 outbreak, technology businesses and events have been widely affected, with a number of major technology conventions being cancelled, including industry trade show Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and Los Angeles-based gaming show E3.<\/p>\n
Google also cancelled its annual I\/O developer conference \u2013 which had been scheduled for May \u2013 because of the virus.<\/p>\n
Other tech firms, such as Apple, moved their developer conferences to a virtual format to adhere to lockdown rules and social distancing measures.<\/p>\n
Technology trade show IFA, based in Berlin, is due to go ahead in early September but with a greatly reduced number of attendees, strict social distancing guidelines, and only a handful of press conferences.<\/p>\n